JP3398014B2 - Terminal network controller - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal network control device using a thionyl chloride lithium battery as a main power source for a telemetering system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional terminal network control device of this type, for example, a telemetering system implementing the terminal network control device, a center device side comprises a host computer and a center side network control device, and the center side network control device is a telephone. It is connected to the center-side switching center via a line, while the terminal-side system is composed of a terminal network control device, a meter on / off switch, etc., and a home telephone.

The terminal network control device is connected to a terminal side exchange through a telephone line, and a home telephone such as a meter on / off switch is connected to the terminal network control device to connect the telephone line network of the communication system described above. You can use it to read the measured values of gas meters, water meters, power meters, etc., and obtain contact information with an on / off switch.

The terminal network control unit centralizes the telephone line interface for controlling the connection between the telephone line and the home telephone, the communication circuit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the center unit via the telephone line, and the terminal network control unit. It includes a microcomputer to control, and the terminal network control device is a constant voltage power supply for supplying power to each circuit system, a thionyl chloride lithium battery for power supply, a plurality of on / off contact input interfaces, and when the terminal network control device is in a standby state. It includes a dummy current control circuit for setting the averaged current of the above (3) to a predetermined value.

In addition, the telephone line interface performs a connection operation with the telephone line in order to give a start-up for no linking communication from the center device to the microcomputer and to give information to the center device by the on / off switching information of the on / off contact. It is a thing.

The terminal network control device has two operation modes: a standby mode and a communication mode in which the communication operation is performed.

When the terminal network control device is in a standby mode as an initial setting at the time of shipment, the terminal network control device supplies a minimum current required to the microcomputer via a constant voltage power supply unit. Receives power from the battery. At this time, the battery supplies the current as the sum of the current that guarantees the time counting operation of the timer counter and the leakage current of each circuit unit, and the current of the dummy current control circuit.

Even after the terminal network control device is shipped, the gas meter is connected to the terminal network control device for gas meter reading, the water meter is connected for water meter reading, and the on / off contacts of various sensors are used even in the standby mode depending on the user's usage. An on / off switch is connected to obtain information.

[0009]

However, when the terminal network control device is installed in the user's house after shipment, it cannot be assumed how various meters, on / off switches, etc. are connected to the terminal network control device. When a plurality of on / off switches are connected, the life of the terminal network control device is shortened as much as it is attached, and is shortened if the switch on state is set longer than the off state.

[0010] Then, in a cold region such as Hokkaido (winter -10 ° C)
When connected to the following), the current consumption in the standby mode of the terminal network control device composed of semiconductors in winter is reduced, and the minimum discharge current value required to avoid the above-mentioned battery inactivation state is divided. There is a possibility.

A battery having a large battery capacity can be used to reduce the service life, but the cost is increased.

In view of the above problems, the present invention sets a minimum necessary discharge current for avoiding a battery inactive state without being affected by the state of a meter on / off switch connected to a terminal network control device. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a terminal network control device.

[0013]

The terminal network control apparatus of the present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object.
It is a device that uses a thionyl chloride lithium battery as a power source that connects a communication line and grows a chloride film inside with low-level discharge, and uses the minimum necessary discharge current to avoid inactivating the battery. In order to make it constant according to the usage status of the terminal network control device for each user, it is equipped with an M port having an on-off contact input interface, and counts the number of M ports having this on-off contact input interface (hereinafter referred to as M port). And a means for detecting an on / off state of an on / off switch connected to the M port, and a dummy amount corresponding to a current amount when the terminal network control device is set so as to detect the on / off state. Equipped with a dummy current control circuit that can reduce the battery current as current, and when the switch of its M port is in the ON state Since the current increases, a dummy current control circuit that reduces the dummy current commensurate with the increase is provided, and the battery discharge current in the initial standby mode of the terminal network control device is kept constant. .

Further, when the system administrator can know the installation of the terminal network control device in the cold district, the center device activates the terminal network control device, communicates, and sets the command only for a desired period. It is characterized by having a function capable of increasing the dummy current.

With these configurations, it is possible to prevent the life of the terminal network control device from being shortened depending on the usage state of the user,
Further, in the cold district, it is possible to prevent the life of the terminal network control device from being shortened by setting the command from the outside.

If a function for counting the number of on / off contact input circuits is provided, a dummy current control circuit corresponding to the number of ports to be connected such as an on / off switch is prepared for commercializing the terminal network control device. Then, the battery discharge current can be automatically controlled to prevent the life of the terminal network control device from being shortened.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A case in which an embodiment of a terminal network control device of the present invention is applied to a telemetering system will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the basic configuration of the terminal network control device of the present invention will be described.

A telemetering system embodying the terminal network control device of the present invention is constructed as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the center device 1 side comprises a host computer 2 and a center side network control device 3. The center-side network control device 3 is connected to the center-side switching center 4 via a telephone line 6.

On the other hand, the terminal side system 7 comprises a terminal network control unit 8, a meter ON / OFF switch etc. 9 and a home telephone 10. The terminal network control unit 8 is connected to the terminal side exchange 5 via a telephone line 6. Has been done. In addition, the meter
The on / off switch 9 and the home telephone 10 are connected to the terminal network control device 8.

By utilizing the telephone line network of the communication system described above, it is possible to read the measured value of a gas meter, a water meter, an electric power meter or the like and obtain contact information by an on / off switch.

FIG. 2 shows the terminal network control unit 8 shown in FIG.
3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the terminal network control device 8 in FIG.
Is a telephone line interface 13 for controlling the connection between the telephone line 6 and the home telephone 10, a communication circuit 16 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the center device 1 via the telephone line 6, and a micro controller for centrally controlling the terminal network control device 8. Computer 1
4, the terminal network control device 8 further includes a constant voltage power supply unit 17 for supplying power to each circuit system, a thionyl chloride lithium battery 18 as a power supply, a plurality of on / off contact input interfaces 19, and the terminal network control device 8 as a standby. A dummy current control circuit 20 for setting the averaged current in the state to a predetermined value is included.

The telephone line interface 13 is
The center device 1 provides a start-up for no-linking communication to the microcomputer 14 and performs a connection operation with the telephone line 6 to give information to the center device 1 by the on / off switching information of the on / off contact.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the microcomputer 14 shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the microcomputer 14 is a timer counter 14 for clocking operation.
1, a CPU 142 whose operation speed is controlled in response to a clock signal given from a counter 141, a rewritable data to be held in the terminal network control device 8 and a temporary data internally generated. Data memory 143, program memory 14 for storing instructions executed by CPU 142 as a program
4, an I / O (input / output) interface 145 for connecting the CPU 142 and an external device such as the on / off contact input interface 19 is included.

The timer counter 141 constantly operates to measure the time, and outputs a timer interrupt signal to the CPU at predetermined time intervals.
142, and I / O interface 145
Operates to give the CPU 142 the activation for the non-linking communication from the center device 1 described above. C
The PU 142 responds to a timer interrupt operation, a start signal for no-linking communication, and a signal from the on / off switch 91 of FIG. 4 to perform interrupt processing as described later.

The terminal network control device 8 has two operation modes, a standby mode and a communication mode in which the communication operation is performed, and the terminal network control device 8 operates in the standby mode as an initial setting at the time of shipment. The network control device 8 supplies the battery 18 via the constant voltage power supply 17 so that the minimum current required for the microcomputer 14 is supplied.
Receives power from. At this time, the battery 18 supplies the current Ia as the sum of the current that guarantees the time counting operation of the timer counter 141 and the leakage current of each circuit portion, and the current 1b of the dummy current control circuit 20.

Even after the terminal network control device 8 is shipped, the terminal network control device 8 may be connected to a gas meter for gas meter reading, a water meter for water meter reading, or various sensors even in the standby mode depending on the user's usage. The on / off switch 91 of FIG. 4 is connected to obtain the on / off contact information. At this time, in addition to the battery currents la and lb of the terminal network control device 8, a later-described current lc becomes the total battery current.

The current lc may be one of the following lc1 and lc2 depending on the state of the switch 91 connected to the ON / OFF contact input interface 19.
The lc1 when open is only the current lc1 of the base circuit of the transistor 193 of the on / off contact input interface of FIG. 4, and the lc1 when closed is the above current l.
c1 and the current lc in the emitter circuit of the transistor 193
It is the sum of two.

In such a standby mode, the discharge current of the thionyl chloride lithium battery 18 is averaged to a predetermined level so that the chloride film grows on the anode of the battery 18 and the internal resistance does not increase (activated state). It is necessary to apply a current larger than the current, otherwise the internal resistance of the battery 18 causes the battery terminal voltage to drop and the device 8 to operate normally when the standby mode is switched to the communication mode using medium load. There is a drawback that the battery voltage level for operation cannot be obtained and the device 8 runs out of control (a phenomenon in which the internal resistance of the battery increases and the battery terminal voltage decreases at a medium load in this way is called a battery inactive state). ).

Further, it is necessary to set the initial battery current at the time of shipping the terminal network control device 8 to the minimum required averaged discharge current that is not affected by various connections of the meter on / off switches. This is because the life of the terminal network control device 8 is affected.

Next, the first embodiment of the terminal network control apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the internal configuration of the terminal network control device 8 according to the first embodiment is configured such that, as an initial setting at the time of shipment, the total current consumption of the battery 18 is measured and the timer counter 141 of the microcomputer 14 shown in FIG. It is composed of a current la as a sum of a current amount for guaranteeing operation and a leakage current of other circuit parts such as the constant voltage power supply part and a current lb flowing through the dummy current control circuit 20. That is, this current value la + lb is designed as the minimum current value for preventing the inactivation of the battery 18.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an embodiment of the dummy current control circuit. The initial terminal network control device 8 includes dummy resistors R11 to Rn2 under the control of the microcomputer 14.
However, the number of the ON / OFF contact input interfaces 19 is doubled, and the dummy current flows by switching to the battery 18 by the control of the output port of the microcomputer 14.
The sum of this current is lb.

On the other hand, as a current consumption which becomes a plus alpha, the on / off contact input interface 19 shown in FIG. 4 is used.
The currents lc1 and lc2 consumed at (M port),
The terminal network controller 8 is composed of a plurality of M ports. This current component shortens the product life of the terminal network control device 8, and if canceled by the dummy current, the product life does not shorten.

However, the amount of current consumed by the various meters connected to the terminal network control device 8 at the time of meter reading depends on various conditions of each user, and naturally the product life also depends. However, the usual meter reading is once a month, and in fact, it has almost no effect on the product life.

A method of using the M port as an embodiment of the M port will be described with reference to FIG. When the terminal network control device 8 is set to use the M port, the microcomputer 14 samples the M port at a predetermined cycle. That is, the resistor 194 is biased, the transistor 193 is turned on, and the state of the on / off switch 91 connected to the M port is determined by the input port of the microcomputer 14 to which the resistor 192 is connected. When this port is High, the switch 91 is determined to be off.

The increase in current consumption when the switch 91 is off is the current lc1 flowing through the resistors 194 and 195 to which the output port of the microcomputer 14 is connected.
It flows only while the output port of the microcomputer 14 is turned on, and it is a pulse because it is sampled at a certain predetermined period, but it is represented as an averaged current.

When this port is low, it is determined that the switch 91 is on. The increase in the current consumption when the switch 91 is turned on is due to the current lc flowing through the resistors 194 and 195 to which the output port of the microcomputer 14 is connected.
1 and a resistor 191 and a transistor 193 that flow only while the output port of the microcomputer 14 is turned on.
And the current lc2 flowing through the switch 91.

Since this lc2 is also a pulse because it is sampled at the above-mentioned predetermined cycle, it is represented as an averaged current. The current value corresponding to this lc1 is set to the dummy resistor R
The dummy resistor Rn2 has a current value corresponding to n1 and lc2. This dummy resistance value can be easily calculated from the terminal voltage of the battery 18 in the standby mode.

From the above, the dummy current control circuit of FIG. 5 is configured with the dummy resistors Rn1 and Rn2 as one set, and is an integral multiple of the M port.

Further, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the control operation is as follows when the terminal network control device 8 is in the initial shipping state.
All dummy resistors are on. When the M port is set to be used in the market, the dummy resistor Rn1 is opened regardless of whether the switch connected to the M port is on or off. Next, turn on / off the M port, and if it is on, Rn2
Open. If this routine is repeated every sampling of the M port, the minimum current value for faithfully preventing the inactivation of the battery 18 can be maintained, and the product life is not affected by the use of the M port.

Next, a second embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention will be described. The terminal network control device 8 according to the second embodiment is characterized in that a dummy current is created and controlled.
One output port of the microcomputer 14, such as a resistor for producing a dummy current, is used as shown in FIG.

Terminal network control device 8 according to the second embodiment
As in the first embodiment, one of the output ports of the microcomputer 14 pulse-controls the dummy current in accordance with the loads used by the plurality of M ports.

The control operation according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As the initial setting, the dummy current lb in the above-described first embodiment of the terminal network control device 8 is realized by n pulses using the dummy resistor R20. Next, when the M port is set, if the number is a, the dummy pulses are reduced by ax.

Next, the number of ports in which the active M port is on is counted, and when it is b, it is further reduced by by. If the above is performed at the time of sampling of the M port, the minimum current value for faithfully preventing the inactivation of the battery 18 can be maintained, and the product life is not affected by the use of the M port.

Here, x corresponds to the number of pulses calculated by the dummy resistor R20 for the averaging current corresponding to lc1 described in the first embodiment. In addition, y is the dummy resistor R2, which is the averaged current corresponding to lc2 described in the first embodiment.
It corresponds to the number of pulses calculated at 0.

Next, a third embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention will be described. A feature of the terminal network control device 8 according to the third embodiment is that, as shown in FIG. 9, when the developed microcomputer 14 is used as one component of various terminal network control devices 8, the M port is There is a possibility of assembly.

At this time, M of the microcomputer 14
The sampling output port of the port is used as an input / output port, and a pull-up resistor 211 is provided at the output stage of the M port by a switching element 212 as shown in FIG. It is a judgment.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of the control operation of the third embodiment.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention will be described. A feature of the terminal network control device 8 according to the fourth embodiment is that the current in the standby mode is a temperature of the winter in a cold region such as −20 ° C. from the current consumption of the microcomputer 14 which is a semiconductor and other semiconductor circuits. Then lu
By reducing in units of A, this is controlled by the dummy current control method of the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of the control operation of the fourth embodiment.

[0050]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the terminal network control device of the present invention is constructed as described above, the inventions of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3 use a thionyl chloride lithium battery at a medium load. However, the battery terminal voltage is not significantly reduced, the device does not run away, and it can be designed to have a long life and reliability even at low temperatures.

Further, in the terminal network control device which requires the use of the M port, compared with the terminal network control device without the M port (only the meter port), unnecessary current does not flow, the cost performance is high and the reliability is high. It will be expensive.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, if the port setting of the microcomputer used for the terminal network control device is set to the input / output port with the pull-up resistor, the terminal network control using the thionyl chloride lithium battery is performed. The device can easily detect the presence or absence of the M port and can automatically control the dummy current.

According to the invention of claim 5, only a thionyl chloride lithium battery can be considered as a terminal network control device in a cold region without a heater, but this command setting makes the device highly reliable. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a telemetering system embodying a terminal network control device showing an embodiment of a terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a microcomputer in the terminal network control device showing the embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an on / off contact input interface in the terminal network control device showing the embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a dummy current control circuit showing a first embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the first embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a dummy current control circuit showing a second embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the second embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a presence / absence detection circuit diagram of an on / off contact input interface circuit showing a third embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the third embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the third embodiment of the terminal network control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 center device 2 host computer 3 center side network control device 4 center side switching center 5 terminal side switching center 6 telephone line 7 terminal side system 8 terminal side network control device 9 meter on / off switch 10 home telephone 13 telephone line interface 14 microcomputer 16 communication circuit 17 constant voltage power supply 18 battery 19 on / off contact input interface 20 dummy current control circuit 91 on / off switch 141 timer counter 142 CPU 143 data memory 144 program memory 145 I / O interface 191 resistance of on / off contact input interface 192 on / off contact input interface Resistance 193 On-off contact input interface transistor 194 On-off contact input interface resistance 195 On-off contact input interface Resistor 211 detects the pull-up resistor 212 detects the pull-up resistor control switch 213 off contact input interface output ports switch for the interface 214 detects input circuit (output side of the input and output ports) (input side of the input and output ports)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G08C 13/00-17/02 G08C 19/00-23/04 G08C 25/00-25/04 H02J 7 / 00-7/12 H02J 7/34-7/36 H04M 11/00-11/10

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A terminal network control device using a thionyl chloride lithium battery as a power source, in which a chloride film grows internally with a low level discharge, in order to prevent a large voltage drop when using a medium load of the battery. reduction means for passing a direct current by a predetermined value, having a plurality of on-off contact input interface circuit, said plurality of on-off contact input interface circuit power sum and dummy sum of power consumption a certain value of current consumed by the The terminal network control device is characterized by controlling so that 2. The first means for controlling the sum of power consumptions of the plurality of on / off contact input interface circuits and the sum of power consumptions of the dummy currents to be constant is initially set. For the means to flow a predetermined value of averaged DC current so that the voltage drop does not increase when using a medium load of the battery, the number of ON / OFF contact input interface circuits and the number corresponding to the state of the connected ON / OFF contacts The terminal network control device according to claim 1, further comprising a circuit capable of switching the dummy resistor. 3. The second means for controlling the sum of power consumptions of the plurality of on / off contact input interface circuits and the sum of power consumptions of the dummy currents to be constant is initially set. and pair the means for flowing the average DC current that does not increase the voltage drop at the load working in the battery by a predetermined value, corresponding to the state of the on-off contact connected to the number of upper SL-off contact input interface circuit the dummy current to the power consumption and such so that the dummy current
2. The terminal network control device according to claim 1, further comprising a pulse control function for increasing / decreasing the number of pulses for controlling the. 4. The terminal network control device according to claim 1, further comprising a function of counting the number of the on / off contact input interface circuits. 5. A function of controlling a dummy current increase by a command setting from the outside such as a center device when the current consumption of the terminal network control device decreases in a cold area or the like, and when it becomes unnecessary. The terminal network control device according to claim 1, further comprising a function of down-controlling the dummy current.